Where to Start When Choosing a Leadership Training Program

As this year winds down, you’re probably starting to think about what 2023 will bring and how you can help your team meet the challenges ahead. As a leader, you play an important role in ensuring that your team is ready to tackle current and future challenges. You may also have heard from your team members that they want more training and development opportunities. But with so many options available, how can you identify the right leadership development solutions? Today I’m kicking off a series of articles about how to do just that.

This week, we’ll focus on understanding what your team needs. With so many fires to put out every day, it may have been a while since you holistically assessed how your team is doing. By pausing to do so now you, you can make a more informed choice when it comes time to select leadership development training. Give yourself some time to think through these seven questions.

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1. What has your team been through in the past year? What are they going through right now? Changes and challenges have been coming so rapidly that you may have lost track of everything that has happened. How have economic changes, technological disruptions and societal disruptions affected your organization and your team?

2. Are you seeing signs of stress and burnout? If you notice that your team members are making more mistakes or missing deadlines, you may assume that some are underperformers or that they’re “quiet quitting.” But such behaviors can also be a sign that they’re overwhelmed with stress and fatigue. Burnout rates just keep rising, so it’s essential for all leaders to recognize the signs and symptoms of burnout on their team.

3. How are your team members showing up? Observe your team members in different situations. Every interaction either elevates or diminishes their individual leadership brands. Are they sending messages that align with who they want to be?

4. How are your team’s relationships? To succeed, your team members need strong networks. But, for many people, relationship building suffers when they get busy or when they work remotely. Is everyone just keeping their head down to get things done? Or are they cultivating relationships with each other, with colleagues in other departments and with leaders at different levels?

5. How are your team members communicating? One of the most important leadership skills for your team members to develop is the ability to communicate with influence and impact. How would you describe each person’s communication style and approach? Do you see any common themes? Pay special attention to whether your team members become less-effective communicators when they are stressed out.

6. Are your team members focused on the right work? With everyone so busy, knowing how to manage your energy and capacity is an essential skill. Do your team members prioritize the work that will have the most impact? Or do they seem distracted and scattered?

7. Beyond what we have already covered, what other themes do you notice?

What’s Ahead in This Series

I hope that this exercise has given you a clearer picture of what’s going on with your team now and the biggest needs a leadership program should address. In upcoming articles, I’ll talk more about defining the outcomes you want from leadership training and what effective leadership training looks like. In the meantime, explore one of our newest leadership development solutions, the award-winning app New Lens. It focuses on areas where people get stuck and strategies that drive high performance, and is designed to fit into tight schedules and build relationships in the process. Schedule a demo now.

5 Reasons Team Members Underperform

It’s an issue every leader deals with at one time or another: You’re working to cultivate a high-performing team, but not everyone is delivering at the level you need them to. One way this has shown up recently is the phenomenon of “quiet quitting,” or doing only the bare minimum to get by.

The first step to address underperformance is determining why it’s happening. You can use the five questions below as a diagnostic tool to figure out what’s really at the root of their underperformance. 

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1. Is Burnout Causing Underperformance?

Burnout was already a big problem before the pandemic. But over the past couple of years, the burnout crisis has gotten even worse. If a team member’s work isn’t measuring up, the first question you should consider as a leader is whether the employee is experiencing burnout. Besides declining work quality, other signs of burnout include fatigue and low energy, seeming “checked out” or saying negative or cynical things about their job. Can you identify what might be causing the employee’s burnout? For example, maybe they haven’t taken time off this year, or they’ve had more and more duties added to their plate. Whatever the cause, a burnt-out employee can’t become more effective until the two of you address their fatigue and stress. Check out my article “Five Ways to Reduce Burnout in Your Team” for more ideas.

2. Are You Setting Clear Expectations?

Another common reason why employees don’t succeed is that they don’t understand what success looks like. Have you given them a clear picture of how you define high performance? Help your team members understand what their top priorities are, how they should spend their time and energy and how they can work successfully with you.

3. Is There a Learning Curve?

An employee might be underperforming simply because they are new on the job and are still mastering everything it entails. This is especially true if the onboarding process at your company has suffered due to lean staffing, heavier workloads or hybrid work. Even veteran employees who are taking on new responsibilities might experience a learning curve.

4. Do Employees Lack Skills or Expertise?

Your employee might be underperforming because their strengths don’t align with their current project or the way that their job has evolved. As technology accelerates change, that’s understandable. Our careers today require ongoing training and learning. But there’s a gap between what employees want and what companies are offering. (You can read more about this in Newberry Solutions’ free white paper, “Leadership Development for a Changing World.”)

5. Is the Employee the Wrong Fit?

This is probably one of the most painful causes of underperformance, but also one of the most important to address. Sometimes an employee just isn’t aligned with what’s important to your team or organization. As a leader, you can help the employee understand your workplace culture and priorities and find ways they can adapt their style or approach. But for employees who can’t or don’t want to change, everyone might be happier with a parting of the ways.

This week, identify one of these areas to explore as you work with an underperforming employee. As you develop your team members, our award-winning app New Lens can be a valuable tool. New Lens can teach your team members how to manage their capacity, focus on the right work, align with you as their manager and build their skills in a way that works with their schedule. Schedule your free demo now.